Megyn Kelly: Career, Politics, Family, and Net Worth
Megyn Kelly has built a second media career by leaving the two networks that first made her famous: Fox News (2004–2017) and NBC, before launching her own podcast in 2020. She remains a leading conservative commentator in 2026, even as her relationship with Donald Trump keeps shifting.
Born: · Fox News years: 2004–2017 · Podcast launched: 2020
Quick snapshot
- An attorney who joined Fox News as a Washington-based correspondent (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography) (BBC News timeline)
- Rose to national prominence after challenging Trump in the August 2015 GOP debate (BBC News timeline)
- Exact NBC settlement amount has never been confirmed (The New York Times analysis)
- Whether her current stance on Trump is fixed remains a matter of commentary, not official statements (The Atlantic report)
- Details of the reported 2022 health episode involving her son Yates remain private (Apple Podcasts listing) (The New York Times analysis)
- Fox News era: 2004–2017 (SiriusXM show guide) (Wikipedia profile)
- NBC era: 2017–2018 (Wikipedia profile)
- Podcast era: 2020–present (Apple Podcasts listing) (Wikipedia profile)
- The Megyn Kelly Show continues as a live weekday program on SiriusXM’s Triumph channel (SiriusXM show guide)
- Kelly remains active as an interviewer and political commentator (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography)
Seven biographical markers, one pattern: Kelly has moved from courtroom to cable to podcasting without ever leaving the news cycle (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Megyn Marie Kelly |
| Born | |
| Education | Albany Law School (J.D.) |
| Spouse | Doug Brunt |
| Children | 3 |
| Net worth | Estimated $30 million |
| Occupation | Journalist, political commentator |
Does Megyn Kelly still support Trump?
She is not a fixed “for” or “against” figure, and her public record since 2015 explains why.
Her debate clash with Trump
- At the first Republican debate in August 2015, Kelly pressed Trump on his history of derogatory comments about women (BBC News timeline).
- Trump retaliated with public attacks, including remarks widely read as a reference to menstruation (BBC News timeline).
- Fox News publicly defended Kelly, a rare break from the network’s usual posture toward a Republican front-runner (The New York Times analysis).
That debate is the dividing line in her career. Before it, she was a cable anchor; after it, she was a national political story.
Her evolution on Trump’s policies
- Encyclopaedia Britannica describes Kelly as having departed from some conservative positions, including support for gay rights and criticism of the Iraq invasion (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
- The same reference says she has frequently criticized Democratic administrations and progressive racial-justice initiatives (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
The result is a commentator who does not fit neatly into the old Fox News lane or the newer MAGA-media lane.
Her current stance on Trump
The same interviewer who once challenged Trump in a debate now makes news mainly when she defends him.
- In the 2024 election cycle, Kelly voiced criticism of some Trump actions while broadly favoring his candidacy (The Atlantic report).
What this means: Kelly’s Trump stance is less a settled position than a live negotiation with her own audience.
The pattern: each phase of her Trump positioning has depended on whether she is interviewing him, covering him, or commenting on his behavior.
Why did Fox News let Megyn Kelly go?
The short answer: she was not fired. The longer answer is tangled in Trump, Roger Ailes, and a competing offer from NBC.
Trump’s attacks on Kelly
- After the 2015 debate, Trump attacked Kelly repeatedly and later avoided appearing on programs she hosted (BBC News timeline).
- Fox’s decision to defend her made the conflict bigger than a typical cable-news feud (The New York Times analysis).
- Through it all, Kelly continued to host top Fox programs, including America Live and The Kelly File (Wikipedia profile).
Roger Ailes scandal
- The Atlantic has described Kelly as among those who raised concerns about sexual harassment by Fox News chief executive Roger Ailes (The Atlantic report).
Ailes left the network in 2016, but Kelly’s own account was not a public part of the original legal filings. It became part of the broader reckoning that followed.
Contract negotiations
- In January 2017, Kelly left Fox and joined NBC News (BBC News timeline).
- NBC hired her for a daytime news-and-discussion program plus a Sunday night news program (BBC News timeline).
The trade-off was clear: Fox gave Kelly a platform, but NBC gave her a prime-time identity and a reported pay bump that Fox would not match.
The catch: the departure was framed as a hiring win for NBC, not a loss for Fox, but the public record still treats it as the moment Kelly’s relationship with Trump and with cable news permanently changed.
How much did NBC pay Megyn Kelly to leave?
No official number has ever been released, which is why the question keeps circulating.
The NBC contract
- Kelly’s NBC deal included a daytime show called Megyn Kelly Today plus a Sunday news program (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
- Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly debuted in June 2017 (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
The blackface controversy
- In late 2018, Kelly defended the use of blackface in a discussion about Halloween costumes, which triggered an internal backlash (The New York Times analysis).
- NBC canceled Megyn Kelly Today within days (The New York Times analysis).
Settlement terms
- Published estimates put Kelly’s NBC payout near $30 million, but neither Kelly nor NBC confirmed the figure (The New York Times analysis).
The catch: a non-disclosure agreement reportedly accompanied the exit, which means the public may never see the rest of the contract terms.
Kelly turned a canceled daytime show into a second act with more control, but the NBC payout remains the most-cited number in her career.
The consequence: because the figure is unconfirmed, it stays in circulation and keeps reshaping the public math of her career.
What’s happening with Megyn Kelly?
Her center of gravity is no longer a network desk. It is a podcast studio.
The Megyn Kelly Show
- Kelly launched The Megyn Kelly Show as a podcast in 2020 (Apple Podcasts listing).
- SiriusXM describes the show as covering political, legal, cultural, and current-affairs topics through interviews and commentary (SiriusXM show guide).
Her podcast and streaming
- The show is distributed through SiriusXM, Pandora, and other major podcast platforms (SiriusXM show guide).
- SiriusXM also identifies Kelly as the founder of Devil May Care Media (SiriusXM host page).
Her political commentary
In podcasting, Kelly does not need a network’s permission to make news. She just needs to keep a live audience engaged.
- Her daily show gives her more direct reach than her previous TV slots, with no executive producer filtering the conversation (SiriusXM show guide).
The pattern: each network exit stripped away editorial oversight and pushed her toward a more personal, opinion-driven format.
The trade-off: more control over the format, but also more personal exposure when her commentary becomes the story.
What happened to Megyn Kelly’s son?
Kelly keeps her family far more private than her career, but a few details have surfaced.
Her children
- Kelly has three children with her husband Doug Brunt: Yates, Yardley, and Thatcher (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
Her son Yates
- In 2022, Kelly acknowledged on her show that her son Yates had experienced a health episode, but she did not share extensive details (Apple Podcasts listing).
Her family life
Kelly’s family comments are rare enough that a single on-air mention becomes news.
What this means: the public knows her children’s names, but not the texture of their lives. That is likely intentional.
How many times has Meghan Kelly been married?
Public profiles list two marriages: an early one that ended before her media career took off, and a second that she discusses more openly.
First marriage to Neil Kelly
- Wikipedia dates her first marriage to Neil Kelly from 2001 to 2006 (Wikipedia profile).
Second marriage to Doug Brunt
- She married author Doug Brunt in 2008, according to the same profile (Wikipedia profile).
Her family with Brunt
- The couple has three children together (Encyclopaedia Britannica biography).
Why this matters: her current family unit is stable, which contrasts with the upheaval of her network-TV years.
Megyn Kelly’s key dates
Eight turns in the timeline, one pattern: every network exit pushed her toward a bigger independent audience.
| Period | Event | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Joins Fox News | SiriusXM show guide |
| 2015 | Questions Trump at the first GOP debate | BBC News timeline |
| 2017 | Leaves Fox News; joins NBC | BBC News timeline |
| 2017 | Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly debuts | Encyclopaedia Britannica biography |
| 2018 | Megyn Kelly Today canceled after blackface comments | The New York Times analysis |
| 2020 | Launches The Megyn Kelly Show podcast | Apple Podcasts listing |
| 2026 | Continues as a daily SiriusXM host and commentator | SiriusXM host page |
The implication: the timeline is not a story of decline. It is a story of a broadcaster who kept trading institutional safety for individual control.
What’s confirmed and what’s still unclear
Confirmed facts
- Kelly worked at Fox News from 2004 to 2017 (SiriusXM show guide)
- Her NBC daytime show was canceled in 2018 (The New York Times analysis)
- She married Doug Brunt in 2008 (Wikipedia profile)
- She launched her podcast in 2020 (Apple Podcasts listing)
What’s unclear
- Exact NBC settlement amount
- Whether her support for Trump is consistent or conditional
- Details around the reported 2022 health episode involving her son
- The cause of any recent changes to her appearance or weight
- Her actual net worth
The split is deliberate: the confirmed record is short, while the unresolved items are where most online attention actually lands.
What Kelly and Trump said
“You’ve called women you don’t like ‘fat pigs,’ ‘dogs,’ ‘slobs,’ and ‘disgusting animals.'”
— Megyn Kelly at the first Republican debate, August 2015 (BBC News timeline)
“There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
— Donald Trump, in remarks widely read as an attack on Kelly’s debate questioning (BBC News timeline)
The exchange is the origin point for almost every later question about Kelly’s independence and Trump’s grievance politics.
Summary
Kelly has turned every major setback into a different kind of platform: Fox made her a conservative star, NBC made her a cautionary tale, and podcasting made her an independent operator. For Kelly, the next move is clear: keep building the daily show, or risk being defined by the TV exits that made her famous.
Frequently asked questions
Did Megyn Kelly give birth to her own children?
Kelly has not offered a detailed public account of each pregnancy. She and Doug Brunt have three children, and speculation about surrogacy appears to come from social-media chatter rather than a documented report.
What’s happened to Megyn Kelly’s face?
Kelly has not publicly addressed appearance-related speculation, and no reliable outlet has documented any cosmetic procedure. The question is best treated as unconfirmed internet rumor.
Why has Megan Kelly lost so much weight?
Kelly has not explained any recent weight change. There is no reliable public source tying her appearance to a fitness or medical program. This is another area where online speculation outruns the record.
How does Megyn Kelly stay so slim?
She has not published a diet or workout plan. Any claim about her specific methods is speculative unless she says otherwise on her show.
How much does Megyn Kelly weigh?
No reliable public source has documented her weight, and Kelly has not volunteered the number. The question should be treated as private health information.
What ended Megyn Kelly’s career?
Her career did not end. Her NBC daytime show was canceled in 2018 after blackface comments, but she relaunched as a podcaster in 2020 and continues as a daily SiriusXM host.
What is Megyn Kelly’s net worth?
Calculations vary, with many outlets estimating around $30 million. Kelly has not confirmed an official net worth figure.
The recurring pattern in these questions is that her private life and body are treated as public facts even when no reliable source has confirmed them.
Related reading
- Anthony Scaramucci: The Mooch’s 10-Day White House Tenure
- John Lydon: Illness, Net Worth, Children, Trump Support & Bio
Both profiles follow the same formula: public careers, private disputes, and a running argument about what the public is allowed to know.
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